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Michael Brockhurst @brockhurstlab.bsky.social · 2d

New preprint!

Ever wondered why only a fraction of genomes encode CRISPR immunity? 🧬 🦠

Turns out CRISPR is rarely beneficial against virulent phages, being most beneficial against those for which resistance mutations are rare!

An epic effort by Rosanna Wright

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Resistance mutation supply modulates the benefit of CRISPR immunity against virulent phages

Only a fraction of bacterial genomes encode CRISPR-Cas systems but the selective causes of this variation are unexplained. How naturally virulent bacteriophages (phages) select for CRISPR immunity has...

www.biorxiv.org

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Zamin Iqbal @zaminiqbal.bsky.social · 13d

Delighted to see our paper studying the evolution of plasmids over the last 100 years, now out! Years of work by Adrian Cazares, also Nick Thomson @sangerinstitute.bsky.social - this version much improved over the preprint. Final version should be open access, apols.
Thread 1/n

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Dre. Alexandra Gros ⚛ 🧠 @agros.bsky.social · 23d

[Podcast] Les chantiers de la recherche | "Génétique : l'ADN des bactéries comme source de savoirs" avec @eloilittner.bsky.social

Génétique : l’ADN des bactéries comme source de savoirs

Un pan de la recherche en génomique se propose d'étudier les bactéries, ces micro-organismes développent des mécanismes de défense particulièrement intéressants.

www.radiofrance.fr

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Eloi Littner @eloilittner.bsky.social · 23d

Et bien c'est fait ! Première à l'antenne d'une radio nationale, dans la matinale de France Culture ce matin. Merci à Guillaume Erner de m'avoir accueilli, et à Juliette Devaux pour la préparation de l'émission.

www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...

Génétique : l’ADN des bactéries comme source de savoirs

Un pan de la recherche en génomique se propose d'étudier les bactéries, ces micro-organismes développent des mécanismes de défense particulièrement intéressants.

www.radiofrance.fr

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Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Sep 8

Willing to join us @pasteur.fr for a PhD for a project on how interactions between mobile genetic elements shape bacterial adaptation? Subject to be tailored to candidates with keen interest in evolution, genomics, computational biology, microbiology. Check www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

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Eloi Littner @eloilittner.bsky.social · 25d

J'aurai la chance de présenter mes travaux de thèse sur France Culture, dans l'émission "Les Chantiers de la Recherche" ce lundi 15 à 6h45, avec Guillaume Erner. Pour les lève-tard, l'émission sera disponible en podcast. Stay tuned !

www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...

Les Chantiers de la recherche : écouter le podcast et replay | France Culture

Chaque matin, entrez dans les coulisses de la recherche, avec celles et ceux qui la font vivre. Dans un laboratoire, une bibliothèque ou sur un terrain de fouilles, des chercheuses et des chercheurs n...

www.radiofrance.fr

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Olaya Rendueles @olayarendueles.bsky.social · 29d

Check out @julielebris.bsky.social’s thread on our latest manuscript describing phenotypic heterogeneity in capsule production in Klebsiella & Acinetobacter @klebclub.bsky.social

This work started when I was still in @pasteur.fr & got finished in @cbitoulouse.bsky.social
#microsky #phagesky

Julie Le Bris @julielebris.bsky.social · Sep 5

Delighted to share our recently published work!
Ever wondered how Klebsiella (and others) deals with capsule production’s costs ?
The paper: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Thread👇

Phenotypic heterogeneity of capsule production across opportunistic pathogens | mBio

The polysaccharidic capsule is present in ~50% of species across the bacterial phylogeny, including all ESKAPE microorganisms, the six most significant multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial pathogens. It is also an important virulence factor and a major ...

journals.asm.org

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Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · Sep 5

A new theme issue of #PhilTransB examines the evolutionary history of bacterial immune systems, their modes of action, and the patterns how different bacterial immune systems are distributed across different ecosystems. Read: buff.ly/Z4qdxY1

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Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Sep 3

At last ! A tool specifically for phage-plasmid hunters. Check tyPPing by @karinailchenko.bsky.social and @eugenpfeifer.bsky.social

Karina Ilchenko @karinailchenko.bsky.social · Sep 3

🚨 New preprint! 🧬

𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬 (𝐏-𝐏𝐬) are fascinating elements: both 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 and 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬 ➡️ tricky to detect.

We present 𝐭𝐲𝐏𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐠 — the first 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 🛠️designed specifically for P-Ps:
✅ Accurate
✅ Sensitive
✅ Easy to use

📖 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Efficient detection and typing of phage-plasmids

Phage-plasmids are temperate phages that replicate as plasmids during lysogeny. Despite their high diversity, they carry genes similar to phages and plasmids. This leads to gene exchanges, and to the ...

www.biorxiv.org

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Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg @uni-wuerzburg.de · Sep 4

We are very proud of our researchers Beatrice Baragli, Jerome Beetz, Jacqueline Degen, Mona Garvert, Jake Greenfield, and Jens Hör: They have been awarded prestigious ERC Starting Grants worth €1.5 million. Congratulations! @erc.europa.eu #ERCStG
➡️ www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-...

ERC Starting Grants were awarded to (clockwise): Jerome Beetz, Mona Garvert, Beatrice Baragli, Jake Greenfield, Jens Hör, and Jacqueline Degen. (Photos: Robert Emmerich / Kerstin Flake / Daniel Hanoch / Chris Weiss / Nik Schölzel / Thomas Hovestadt)

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Helmholtz Institute Würzburg @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social · Sep 4

Congratulations to our #HIRI group leader and JMU junior professor @jenshoer.bsky.social on receiving a 1.5 million euro #ERCStG from @erc.europa.eu! In his RIBO-PHAGE project, he will study phages—viruses that infect bacteria—with RNA genomes. 🥳👏 @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social @uni-wuerzburg.de

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Jens Hör @jenshoer.bsky.social · Sep 4

I'm really happy to have been granted an @erc.europa.eu Starting Grant! We'll study the molecular principles of RNA phages—from infection to replication to bacterial immunity. Interested in joining? Feel free to reach out! Formal job ads to follow.

More info here:

tinyurl.com/RIBO-PHAGE

#ERCStG

1.5 million euros for research into “bacterial killers”

ERC Starting Grant awarded to Jens Hör from the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg

www.helmholtz-hiri.de

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Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · Aug 25

Preprint: We discovered phage proteins that sequester diverse immune signaling molecules, including cUMP, cCMP, and N7-cADPR

The first viral sponges to inhibit Pycsar and type IV Thoeris

Congrats to talented leading author Romi Hadary! Read her thread to learn more about our findings

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François Rousset @francoisrousset.bsky.social · Sep 2

Mind-blowing tour-de-force for synthetic biology and immunity 🤯
Congrats @garbjeremy.bsky.social and @soreklab.bsky.social 🤩

Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · Sep 2

Preprint: De-novo design of proteins that inhibit bacterial defenses

Our approach allows silencing defense systems of choice. We show how this approach enables programming of “untransformable” bacteria, and how it can enhance phage therapy applications

Congrats Jeremy Garb!
tinyurl.com/Syttt
🧵

Synthetically designed anti-defense proteins overcome barriers to bacterial transformation and phage infection

Bacterial defense systems present considerable barriers to both phage infection and plasmid transformation. These systems target mobile genetic elements, limiting the efficacy of bacteriophage-based t...

www.biorxiv.org

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Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social · Sep 4

Im Kampf gegen multiresistente Keime können #Bakteriophagen eine weitere Waffe sein. Für sein Projekt "RIBO-PHAGE" erhält @jenshoer.bsky.social, Nachwuchsgruppenleiter @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social, nun einen #ERCStG des @erc.europa.eu!🎉 Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
www.helmholtz-hzi.de/media-center...

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François Rousset @francoisrousset.bsky.social · Sep 4

Super excited to receive the ERC starting grant to explore what phage-bacteria interactions can teach us on host-pathogen conflicts 🤩 I'm immensely grateful to my wonderful team and to present and past mentors 🙏

European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · Sep 4

📣 The ERC Starting Grant call results are out!

Find out which early-career researchers will receive funding this year, what they will be investigating, where they will be based... plus lots of other #ERCStG facts & figures for 2025!

➡️ buff.ly/IsafuFh

#FrontierResearch 🇪🇺#EUfunded #HorizonEurope

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Institut Pasteur | 130 years of biomedical research @pasteur.fr · Sep 2

👏 Huge congrats to @audeber.bsky.social, group leader and head of our Molecular Diversity of Microbes lab, on being named a 2025 Vallee Scholar! Her pioneering work on ancestral immunity opens new perspectives for biomedical innovation. 🔬🌍

@valleefoundation.bsky.social

#Science #Immunity

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Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Aug 27

Very happy to see this one out: doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf192
Here, we assessed the contribution of natural transformation to the acquisition of novel genes. See preprint thread. @molbioevol.bsky.social #microsky #evobio

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Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Jul 23

Here's our new broad review on the extended mobility of plasmids, about all mechanisms driving and limiting their transfer. From conjugation to conduction, phage-plasmids to hitchers, molecular to evolutionary dynamics, ecology to biotech. The state of affairs. 1/9 academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

graphical abstract of the article the extended mobility of plasmids

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Eugen Pfeifer @eugenpfeifer.bsky.social · Jul 28

Excited 🥳 to share our latest work on gut phages!
Big thanks to @epcrocha.bsky.social, Erick D, Camille d'H, @fplazaonate.bsky.social, Quentin LB, and all others involved for support and contributions! 🙌
Out in Cell Reports @cp-cellreports.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Here's what we found 🤓

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Aude Bernheim @audeber.bsky.social · Jul 24

🦠🧍‍♀️From bacterial to human immunity.

We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity.
Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

www.science.org

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MwahahahahahadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · Apr 22

Read preprints. Cite preprints. Email people and tell them you loved their preprint. Email people you hated their preprint. Embrace preprints, preprints are good.

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Université de Montréal - News @umontreal-en.bsky.social · Jun 9

The study involves our‪ microbiologist @fredoleroux.bsky.social, whom we profiled in late 2023 as a new hire and Canada Excellence in Research Chair: nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2...

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Institut Pasteur | 130 years of biomedical research @pasteur.fr · May 22

🧬 Bacteria fight both antibiotics and viruses with the same genetic tool: integrons!

New study (Institut Pasteur, CNRS, Université Paris Cité & Montréal): ~10% of gene cassettes may defend against phages.

🛠️ One step closer to smarter therapies.

🔗 www.pasteur.fr/en/research-...

Bacteriophages infecting an Escherichia coli bacterium.
Credit: Institut Pasteur/Chantal Le Bouguénec (Pathogenic Gram-Positive Bacteria Biology Unit) and Laurent Debarbieux (Molecular Biology of the Gene in Extremophiles Unit). Imaging by Perrine Bomme, Ultrastructural Microscopy Platform. Colorization by Jean-Marc Panaud.

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Di Jiang @dijiang319.bsky.social · May 11

🧫🦠🔬🧬 @science.org Sedentary chromosomal integrons as biobanks of bacterial antiphage defense systems | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@baptistedarracq.bsky.social @eloilittner.bsky.social @celineloot.bsky.social @epcrocha.bsky.social et al.
#microbiology #phage #immunity #phagesky #MicroSky

Sedentary chromosomal integrons as biobanks of bacterial antiphage defense systems

Integrons are genetic systems that drive bacterial adaptation by acquiring, expressing, and shuffling gene cassettes. While mobile integrons are well known for spreading antibiotic resistance genes, t...

www.science.org

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